Just one day after posting a video in which he accused law enforcement of effectively keeping two of his aides “hostage” in the ongoing Qatargate investigation, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu returned to social media with another message—this time clarifying that Qatar should not be viewed as a hostile nation.
“Qatar is a complex country, not a simple country,” he says. “It’s not an enemy country, and many praise it.”
Netanyahu also spoke out in defense of Jonatan Urich, a close adviser who was recently detained as part of the investigation.
“Jonatan is a dedicated employee,” says Netanyahu. “He’s my political adviser in the Likud. He doesn’t have access to any classified intelligence material, but they say he praised Qatar.”
He then turned the spotlight onto his political opponents. “Do you know who really praised Qatar?” Netanyahu asks.
He references Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who commended Qatar for its involvement in the hostage negotiations after reportedly meeting with a “senior Qatari official” in Paris earlier this year.
Netanyahu went on to note that Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party, has also expressed appreciation for Qatar multiple times. He claims Gantz even traveled there in the past to promote surveillance software developed by his former tech firm, Fifth Dimension, prior to entering politics.
He didn’t stop there. The prime minister also highlighted Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar—whom he is currently seeking to remove from his post—saying Bar visited Qatar on multiple occasions during negotiations over hostages and spoke positively about the country. Netanyahu further alleged that Bar attended the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a guest of the Qatari government.
According to Netanyahu, the arrest of Urich is part of an attempt to pressure him into turning against his boss.
“You know why they are doing this,” Netanyahu says. “First of all, in order to prevent the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whom the government unanimously decided to oust.”
“And, as always, to bring down a right-wing government,” he claims.“We see you. You’re not fooling anyone.”
The investigation, led jointly by police and the Shin Bet, began after it came to light that Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu’s former spokesman, had been charged in a separate case with leaking sensitive IDF documents. While working in the Prime Minister’s Office, Feldstein was also allegedly employed by a global company contracted by Qatar to plant favorable stories in the Israeli media.
Urich, for his part, is suspected of being involved in a complex network of individuals—spanning business and political circles—who allegedly facilitated financial transactions from Doha while disguising their origin.
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